"Diff'rent Strokes" star Todd Bridges and his wife are no longer moving to the beat of just one drum -- and they're ending their 14-year marriage.

Todd announced the split on Twitter, saying he wanted to "beat the media to this." He explained ... "Me and my wife our [sic] divorcing our lives are going different directions."

It's unclear if they've actually filed divorce or separation papers yet.

Todd says they "remain good friends." They have one son together.

"Diff'rent Strokes" star Todd Bridges isn't just collecting a check to be a spokesperson for a drug and alcohol counselor training program -- dude is putting in hours of work in the classroom.



Bridges was roaming the halls at the ICDC College campus in Van Nuys, CA last week -- where he talked to students about his past addictions ... and explained how substance abuse counselors helped him kick the junk.

A rep for Todd tells us, "He is excited to work with ICDC and is looking forward to helping out as much as he can wherever he may be."

Todd Bridges -- the guy who played Willis on "Diff'rent Strokes" -- was all smiles recently, which is strange ... considering the guy was holding the bloody remains of a thresher shark.


Here's the short of it -- we're told Todd was on a camping trip with his son in Santa Barbara, CA ... when a nearby fisherman hooked the predator and needed help hauling it out of the water.

Todd came to the rescue -- but the shark must have been pissed ... because soon after, it completely lost its head.

Fin.

Several of Gary Coleman's closest friends -- including "Diff'rent Strokes" co-star Todd Bridges -- have just gathered for a memorial honoring the late actor at Il Cielo in Beverly Hills.



As we first reported, two of Gary's closest friends were organizing the memorial a few months ago -- but weren't planning on inviting Gary's ex-wife Shannon Price ... for obvious reasons.

We're told around 30 people are expected to show up to the restaurant today -- where they'll be served a bunch of Gary's favorite foods, including mini burger sliders with Kobe beef.

We're also told Gary's friends were planning on honoring his legacy by "telling fun stories" about him.